Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Los Angeles, CA—The most meaningless police incidents can
quickly elevate to crisis proportions.
That’s especially true for celebrities.
We’ve all seen damaging video of celebrity’s antics surrounding minor
conflicts. When such an event becomes
national news it’s no longer insignificant.

When you become a celebrity your privacy can become all but
non-existent. Along with the big cash and perks comes the media magnifying glass.

Whatever you do pick your new friends carefully because all
manner of danger can come from strangers with big smiles. Drug dealers, extortionists and stalkers
always seem to circle around celebrities like sharks.

It never hurts to have a new friend or business associate
quietly checked out by a reputable private investigator. That
can save you millions later. When you
hire bodyguards look for recently retired cops or qualified licensed private
investigators. They must know how to
avoid troublesome conflicts.

As a long time cop and defense investigator I have seen both
side of celebrity cases. I need to begin
with a shocking fact; cops, prosecutors or judges never treat celebrities
equally. For too many of these
government officials, attaching themselves to celebrities brings brushes with
fame and hope of fortune.

The O.J. Simpson case changed many lives and made lucrative
careers for cops, lawyers and low ranking journalists.

What I’m saying is that cops are far more inclined to arrest
a celebrity than to give the benefit of the doubt. Prosecutors likewise will commence a
prosecution of a celebrity where they’d normally be inclined to not file the
case.

We’ve seen many high profile Hollywood criminal case acquittals that were
not tied to great legal work but the all out effort to bring even the thinnest cases
against celebrities.

Some celebrities have become regulars to petty scandals and
media frenzies. We think of Paris Hilton
and Lindsay Lohan as troubled. Were they
not famous, they might have escaped arrest, conviction, and publicity mud
baths. Frankly none of their offenses
deserved the massive attention they received.
Celebrity justice is by far the best reason to bar cameras from
America’s courtrooms.

Celebrities are natural targets for drunks, fools and
publicity seeking parasites. When out
in public celebrities are always in danger of some unprovoked conflict. The best advice I can give anyone who is
either famous or infamous is to lay low.
Hide behind those sun glasses and floppy hats when possible. Pay with cash or a credit card with a business name at stores. Discretion and conflict
avoidance are paramount.

However shit happens and you may be on the receiving end of
a simple traffic citation. You may
become the victim of a disgusting criminal allegation made by some
opportunist. What you do during or
after such an even can destroy or leave a career somewhat unscathed.

Take the retired Chicago burglary detective, and now
well-known actor Dennis Farina. He once
forgot he had a small loaded handgun in a bag as he was boarding a plane at
LAX. Was this some ugly crime, scandal
or terrorist event? Of course not, but
Farina never had a chance with the TSAgoons or LAX police.

Eventually after spending thousands on a fine lawyer and
avoiding additional publicity Farina was able to mitigate the forgettable mess
into a non-conviction. Farina’s career
moved forward without a staining his reputation. He never publicly lost his dignity.

Here are some rules:
Behave well during an arrest.
Argue your case in the courtroom and not on the street or in the
press. Always smile and try to look your
best for police booking photos so they don’t look like wanted posters. Never answer police questions, tell them you
want a lawyer present first. If you’re unable to avoid the paparazzi, never try
to hide your face from news cameras that looks terrible. If cornered by journalists never say, “No
Comment!” Instead say something, WITH A
SMILE, “The matter is under
investigation right now, thank you for your concern.” If you’re already charged or indicted simply
say the matter needs to be tried in the courtroom.

Let your attorney and publicist handle the media
fallout. Unfortunately many otherwise good defense
lawyers have their own publicity agenda or are not experienced to make wise
media strategy. Not all publicists are
equal when it comes to crisis management.

Always remember the less said to the media is usually the
best. Always smile and never let anyone see you
upset, angry or sweating. Never slam you
door or gas peddle when leaving uncomfortable locations.

Remember the paparazzi will get the big money for images and
video of seemingly bad or emotionally motivated behavior. Regrettably you will see those images again
and again. The pictures will never go away and with the Internet they will out
live all of us.

Good luck, have fun, stay safe and enjoy bringing your
talents to the world.